Cougar football: Feel free to vent

I was at the Colorado State game, but I have no explanation for why things turned out the way they did Saturday for the Cougars, who were on the short end of a 28-25 score to a team that struggled to beat Sacramento State two weeks ago. Yep, Sacto State

Why is this team 1-3? I have no idea. Why can’t the offense get things going a bit earlier in the game? I have no idea. Why is the defense struggling so much? I have no idea. Why is the long ball non-existent in the offense? I have no idea. What’s the solution to the Poincare Conjecture? I really have no idea.

Perhaps you, the viewers at home, have an idea because like I indicated earlier, I have nothing.

68 Responses

I think we all see the 800 pound gorilla in the room but we can’t mention it because good teams are supposed to be mentally tough to a fault. My feelings are similar to yours, but I do think the AFA game should have been postponed.

Recriminations over this game should be forgotten and the boys should just go out and play ball like next week is game 1. Just wipe the last two Saturdays off the books and play your guts out against ECU.

Well, given the loads of comments you’ve received at this time, I’ll throw in my two cents.

I live in Reston, Va., and listened to the game on the Internet (650, “The Light” from Fort Collins, Colo.) I graduated from UH nearly 20 years ago, and I gotta say, I was so frustrated that I turned the game off when CSU scored their third TD.

I honestly don’t have an answer for yesterday’s loss. Now that conference play is about to begin, I hope Kevlar and the boys will turn it around. It does seem as though they’re wanting to develop a reputation as “Comeback kids” instead of just going out and executing solid fotball from the beginning. Maybe the Defense needs to switch back to the 3-4 until they’re more comfortable with the 4-3.

2 weeks in a row, the game was lost in the first half. It is guaranteed that in this offense, if you come out flat, the D will be on the field too long in the first half and we’ll be playing catch up the rest of the game.

A little responsibility lies with both coaches and players, alike. Can’t make the Thurs UAB game from San Antonio because of work. So I guess I will see y’all in Nov at Tulane.

Murph — Hitting the nail on the head. But the defense still has to make a few stops.

All I know is that this is terrible. We aren’t going to win very many games if we keep spotting teams a 2 touchdown+ lead. Next week is another game and call me crazy but I think we will beat ECU. Their defense seems to be winning the games for them, not their offense that couldn’t punch it in the endzone with three tries from the one yard line. That being said I dont see Case making the mistakes that it would require for them to beat us like they have everyone else (NC State excluded).

This one has me scratching my head. The defense is really the thing that has me confused. I thought we’d be able to stop folks. But we are worse (if that’s possible) than we were last year. And this year’s team has all the senior leadership! I’m really, really disappointed. The offense is so one-dimensional that I knew good teams would shut it down when we played them. But I didn’t expect “average” teams to be able to do it for complete halves, i.e. Air Force & Colorado St. No vertical game, no running game, no imagination… the storm… hey, I’m ready for basketball season already.

Murph — Bryce Beall had 96 rushing yards yesterday, so there is a running game. But it’s hard to run when you’re three touchdowns behind in the first half.

1-4 going into the UAB game and looking at the schedule, it looks like home for December. No Defense, what about this High Powered Offense? Jack and Klingler sound pretty good right now. This team is not good.

For answers to those questions Murph, I go to you. What I can tell you is that this fun wagon is going no where. We have lost two winnable games and one that we had in the bag (as much as that can be said after only playing half a game). The way Rice is playing they are going to kill us (to cap off a wonderful season for us).

I am not to the point of sounding like that guy in Alliens, you know “Maybe you haven’t been keeping up with current events but we just got our _ _ _ _ _ kicked, pal!” But it is getting there.

I am 100% on board with Kevlar and think that in the next 2 years when he has time to adequately build a good foundation we are going to be ok. For now, I think we were to optimistic in thinking we were contenders for the Conference title. I think we have the talent but not the… heck I have no idea. Murph?

Murph — Like I wrote, I have nothing. I think the coaching staff is outstanding, and the talent is there. In short, I have no idea why the team is 1-3.

Coaching: That’s 2 weeks in a row that the coogs didn’t show up at the begining of the game, on offense or defense.

Defense: For the last 2 weeks the defense stinks in the first half, then adjust and do a decent job in the second half, late and short.

Offense: A step back for Case this week. Turnovers kill wins.

Special Teams: You tell me. I couldn’t see or stream (out of town)the game, but appreciated following on your blog.

The (Polly) Good News:

Generally: It takes time. This is a newly formed coaching staff with a first year head coach. New offense and new defense. Some new young players breaking in and injuries at critical positions, especially on defense.

Specifically: Houston just had a hurricane. I know that has distracted the hell out of me and I am certain it has distracted the hell out of the players and coaches. The team has been living and practicing out of hotels and playing on the road the last 2 games. One could say that these conditions supercharge team bonding and chemistry. One would be foolish in saying this.

Non-conference Play: The Coogs have not yet lost in conference play. Unfortunately, next week we get to play ECU, the 08 gold standard for C-USA. A win here and the smiles return to Cougar Nation.

I will be there early because-Hope springs eternal-Go Coogs.

Murph — Special teams played well. Not only did Hang Time average over 50 yards per punt, but Wesley Scourten blocked a field-goal attempt and deflected CSU’s final punt.

The defense has problems because Art Briles rarely paid attention to defense in recruiting. He would not even let his offense get hit in practice. Give Sumlin a full year of recruiting and he will put a defense on the field. It is becoming an interesting phenomena about how Ike is affecting the sporting teams of Houston. Ike put the Astros into a nosedive and appears to have done the same with the Coogs. Hopefully the Texans can break the cycle today.

Too bad yestrday’s game was not just another South Park cartoon. I think I heard Cartman say “Oh my God, they killed the Houston Defense.” Until we are able to stop someone, we will never get to the next level. So what if we score 30 points a game if we give up 31. I realize we don’t have a ton of talent and depth is very shallow. I think Sumlin knows this better than anyone. I do applaud his efforts at trying to find kids who “want to play.” Looks like we are building for next year. Hopefully this year’s seniors will step up right now and show some leadership and heart and turn this thing around. Knocking off ECU would be the way to start.

I haven’t seen the Coogs yet, but I’ve listened to all th egames on the internet. Ike isnt an excuse, but we saw how Ike affected professionals (Astros). It should have been expected the Coogs would take a step back with all their losses in the backfield and at receiver. The run defense is still nowhere close to being good. Sumlin was a great long term hire. Ask Slocum and Stoops who their best recruiter was at ATM and OU and they will say Sumlin. Sumlin will eventually get better players into UH than Briles did and that will show on the field in the next two or three years. As for this year hopefully 6-6 is still attainable.

I do not think the problem is with our players but instead with the coaching. We’ve been getting out coached. As long as we can show up for conference then I believe we will be alright. A bowl win in any bowl will be a successful season but a loss would be far worse than not making one at all.

For UH, the problem really wasn’t trying to too much at the end; it was — again — doing too little at the beginning. The Cougars fell behind 21-0 before finally getting a 17-yard field goal from Ben Bell as time expired in the half.

It has been the same story for the Cougars throughout their three-game losing streak heading into their Conference USA opener at East Carolina — an inability to score efficiently in the first half after getting only seven first-half points in last week’s loss to Air Force.

“We’ve got to start quicker — we just have to,” said UH coach Kevin S(t)um(b)lin. “We have to address that as a staff. I thought that all in all it was kind of the same story.

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Fumblin’, Crumblin’, Coach Kevin Stumblin’…

Of course, I want Kevlar back. I want that swagger and sense of confidence and pride we all felt early on. I also am not giving up on the coach after just 4 games. The extenuating circumstances alone demand he be given more time. These starts, however, are still unacceptable, and have shown Coach Stumblin to be anything but bullet-proof.

All that said, 3 bad games are meaningless compared to everything you all in Houston and Galveston are going through. My thoughts and prayers are with you all for a swift return to normalcy.

One play away from a totally different discussion. You throw this ball where nobody but your guy can come close to grabbing it.

If you think that play isn’t working then you just kick it. But as Murph noted in his article, that play had worked just a few minutes ago. So you had to give it a shot. But you MUST throw that ball higher.

Realistically, this IS Sumlin’s first rodeo as a head coach. However, Todd Graham made Rice competitive his first year. Is it talent only? Is it coaching only? I say both. Nobody has been harder on the coaching staff than I have. So, we write off this year for a bowl appearance and maybe next year as well. Year 3 we should be competitive with BCS teams. Year 4 we should win some of those games. Yesterday’s fourth quarter was a good sign that the team has some fight. Do I wish Briles was back? Nope because defense was not a priority. Maybe we are paying the price this year on defense for those years Briles was here. However, I have seen how good coaching can cover a lot of weaknesses. So yes I am disappointed but it is too soon to say we need to make wholesale changes again. Let’s stay the course and give the coaching staff time to implement their plan. I am sticking with my 3 – 9 prediction based on what I have seen so far. I hope they prove me wrong with more than 3 wins.

If you don’t have any idea of what is going on (with access to the players and coaches, and having seen all the games) then I certainly won’t pretend that I know. But I still believe in this team and these coaches. It may take a lot longer than we wish, but these coaches will get it right. I will admit that I thought we would be 3-1, rather than 1-3, but a lot of things, completely unforeseeable, have happened over the last 3 weeks and that has had big impact on where we are. Injuries likely cost us a chance at retaining our lead in the OSU game, and Ike completely disrupted game week routines for AFA and CSU.

Karl Marks said religion is the opiate of the masses. Based on some of the previous blogs I believe optimism is the opiate of the masses. The final scores are deceptive. UH has trailed by a combined score of 94-28 through close to 3 of the four quarters. The so called rallies come when these games are already decided. The defense is miserable. The defense could not stop a one dimensional team like AF. Oklahoma State averaged 10 yards per carry. Colorado State had trouble with perenial west coast dormat SAC STATE. The team stinks and will win four games this year. Lets start the basketball season now.

Murph — First of all, it’s Karl Marx. And the rallies aren’t coming when the “game is already decided.” If you have a chance to win the game on your last series, then the game hasn’t been decided, has it?

Karl Marks said religion is the opiate of the masses. Based on some of the previous blogs I believe optimism is the opiate of the masses. The final scores are deceptive. UH has trailed by a combined score of 94-28 through close to 3 of the four quarters. The so called rallies come when these games are already decided. The defense is miserable. The defense could not stop a one dimensional team like AF. Oklahoma State averaged 10 yards per carry. Colorado State had trouble with perenial west coast dormat SAC STATE. The team stinks and will win four games this year. Lets start the basketball season now.

I believe the reason is really simple, new coach, new offense, new defense and new special team. As for the talent, cougar is off the chart compare to other CUSA teams, but putting this team to come to one unit is different story. So can we blame the head coach for that? No, I don’t think so, its something you cannot control in football… answer is ‘TIME’. It will take some time for the cougars to be sync in unison, playing as a whole unit. Have hope everybody, who knows? By the conference games, Cougars just might be ready to GO. I am optimistic about this team.

It’s tough to know what the problem is by listening to the radio, but I really think our players aren’t physical enough. There is no reason why an AFA and Colorado St. team should push us around in the first half the way they have the last two games. Our players have to take it to ECU next week. I don’t think we’ll beat ECU, but I want us to play with more heart and intensity. A bowl bid is now online with every game we play. I want our Cougars to play with more urgency.

The 4-3 is not working with the talent we have – we need to go back to 3-4 if not combined with the bonehead call to go into the end zone w 8 seconds then this is on Kevlar – anyone saying it was Keenum’s fault has never coached football – this is not the pros we had momentum and should have gone for the FG and OT- that is on the coach – bad call. Whenever you put the ball in the air three things can happen and two of them are not good.

There is too much talent on this team to be 1-3. If Sumlin is the guy he better shake it up – and they need an upset against ECU – if not this will be a 4 win team – and shades of Dana Dimel all over again .maybe Pardee and Klingler need to be brought in as consultants.

We seem to have a leadership problem. Senior “leaders” have to actually lead and take responsibility. I was concerned when I read that our defense has been just 1 missed assignment from being decent. If that is all it is, then the players have to hold each other accountable to do their job. The coaches can only do so much, these players have to kick each other in the backside and get a job done.

CK has done a decent job of getting yards. In HSCAB’s offense that was fine because it was more designed to control the ball. This offense has 1 objective and that is to get the ball in the endzone every possession. It is troubling to see that there is no threat for CK to complete a deep pass. We all know his arm is below average, but he is constantly throwing the ball off the mark to the inside, outside, long and short. There has to be some sort of deep threat to keep the defense off-balance.

My biggest concern on offense is the OL. CK is being flushed out of the pocket and having to make too many plays with his feet. It has been stated that this is supposedly the best line in CUSA. I sure hope so, because they sure as heck haven’t done much against our OOC opponents.

Murph — the OL did an outstanding job on that last series. Kelvis had all day to pick and choose his receivers.

Clearly, judgement of this team will have to wait until the season is over… that pertains to both the players as well as the coaching staff. In fact, judgement of the coaching staff can only be made realistically after 2 or 3 years.

I know, I know, we don’t have that much time!!! It is not like UH is going to drop football.

I must say that stating that this is an outstanding coaching staff is a bit premature, at best!!

I expected the team to be 2-2 right now, with losses to OSU and one of the two MWC schools. I thought that it would take time for the team to adjust to the new staff’s offensive and defensive schemes. I was also worried that the team would struggle with its weak spots at wide receivers and linebackers. As it turns out, all of those things have happened.

Part of the reason this team is 1-3 right now instead of 2-2 or even 3-1 is because of the hurricane. It doesn’t excuse all of of the team’s woes right now, but there’s no denying that Ike has disrupted the team’s routine and concentration. The Air Force game, in retrospect, simply should not have been played. I know the players and coaches like to believe that they can play under any type of conditions, but asking them to play a “home” football game in another school’s stadium in front of 2,500 people at the very same time a hurricane is ravaging their homes, families and friends back in Houston is a bit much. I wouldn’t even expect a pro team to be able to play with a clear head in those conditions. Hindsight being 20/20, the game simply should have been called off.

With that said, I was at the game in Fort Collins yesterday (nice stadium and great weather for football, by the way), and one thing that stood out to me was the way the Coogs were so physically dominated by Colorado State, especially on defense. The Rams’ O-Line continually blew the Coogs off the ball. Going into the season I did not anticipate the degree to which this defense lacks size and speed. Also, just because somebody is a senior or a four-year starter doesn’t mean that they are an especially effective athlete.

The offense has its problems, too. Receivers are still dropping easy passes. The O-Line is still having trouble establishing itself as an effective run blocking outfit (although to their credit they did improve as the game wore on). The slow starts are a concern as well; the offense didn’t get things going until the last drive of the first half.

Special teams made a HUGE mistake when they were unable to cover Colorado State’s botched field goal attempt in the first half. CSU was able to convert the botched attempt into a first down, and that saved a drive that resulted in a touchdown. Those are the kinds of mistakes that teams need to be able to capitalize upon.

I didn’t have a problem with the decision to take a shot at the endzone with eight seconds left, but the play, as it was called and executed, was a mistake.

Bottom line: this team has a lot of problems and this year may end up being a dreaded “transitional” season. But I really think that the disruption caused by the hurricane is a big part of the story right now.

OK, I get it that the team has faced a number of challenges. The coaching staff is new, we lost a lot at the skill positions due to graduation, the hurricane was a serious distraction, and so on.

I was sitting across from a former UH offensive lineman many years ago on a flight back from Dallas. He asked me what I thought of the new coach (Kim Helton). I said I was optimistic. He said he wasn’t. The reason, he said, was that Helton made losing acceptable. “We play a really tough schedule,” “We’ve had a lot of injuries,” “We played a really tough team on the road,” etc. This former player for Bill Yeoman said that for Coach Yeoman, there was never an acceptable reason for losing — never, period.

People, the season isn’t even close to being over! We haven’t even played a conference game! Give them some time to settle in at home, they haven’t been there since the week before OK St.

All these people come up in here with all this big talk about BCS games and whatnot, now everyone is wanting to throw in the towel, this is freaking pathetic!

Case is outstanding, LJ is a freak in the red zone, Hafner is always there, Patrick Edwards and KJ are starting to do good things on the offensive side of the ball, not to mention countless others such as Carrier, SirV, or dare I say Time Monroe.

P-Hunt is crisp, K-Font is a leader, Brinkley is solid. Lubo and Nicholson have been badly banged up but keep brining the heat play in and play out.

ECU is beatable, their whole king of the hill thing is over.

UH doesn’t need a new head coach or AD, they need some fans with some spines, give me a break.

Murph — Helmet sticker! This — that C-USA play is all that really matters — is pretty much a summary of my story for tomorrow’s paper.

Is your story going say why you think we can beat any CUSA team? Didn’t you predict a 9-3 season but that you wanted to say 12-0? I feel bad for the players. Dave Maggard with this absurd hire really screwed up their college career. Players should be able to leave when a coach takes a new job.

LET’S MEET UP IN FRONT OF THE ALUMNI CENTER WITH PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES AND DEMAND UNCLE DAVE PACK UP AND LEAVE TO BAYLOR AT ONCE!!!! AND MICHAEL MURPHY TO TAKE US TO THE PROMISED LAND OF THE B.C.S!!!AMEN.

Well lets see what happens to our new coach. He waited so long to get here to take over and lost ground in the recruiting wars. His reason, that he could not leave Oklahoma in their time of need for a Bowl game. CAB got here running and started turning a bad program into a winner. Five years, Four Bowls, and CUSA Title. I was in a business that you had to win every day (sales) and those who did not hit the ground running got run over big time.

I think that at this point Sumlin is over his head as Head Coach. Maybe over time and soon he will find a way to turn this broken group around. I am pulling for everyone connected with our program. I know this much that resumes are cheap if you cant win and after a year or two a losing program looks to a new face. His one strength is recruiting so lets see what he brings to our table. One last thought is because of the CAB and Uncle Dave we still have a football program.

And you Murph get a lot of credit too as no one at your newspaper ever gave the energy to our athletic program that you have shown.

I was working outside in Miami Saturday & the only game I could hear was the Cane/A&M game so I just got some scores throughout the day. When I heard Colorado St. was beating my Coogs 21-3 I was shocked. Although they had a chance at the end again to tie/win it, Case once more threw an ill-advised pass that sealed our fate. Why did Sumlin have to come in and change our wonderful offense under Briles and bring in his boring no excitement style plays? The only bowl this team will make is the “Porcelain Bowl” and now I realize how much we are going to miss Art Briles.

Here are my 2cents. Now, I haven’t seen one game this season, living here in Atlanta (I was pissed the AF game was moved since it was scheduled to be on CSTV, but of course it was understandable).

I have a theory I hadn’t trotted out until now, since I didnt want to be one of those people who always see the glass half empty, alas I guess I am when it comes to UH sports.

I was so excited based off of everything I heard about CKS, until I heard one very important thing, which upset me greatly. When I heard he was installing a variation of the Tech offense, I knew it would take awhile to get this thing rolling.

With this offense, there are no fullbacks. The 3rd & 1′s in the red zone are tough to gain against good teams w/ strong defenses. Of course the O isn’t our problem. The defense, while practicing against our scout team for that particular week’s opponent, doesn’t get any good looks against tough physical teams, like CSU, AF, or soon-ECU, since they don’t practice against physical offenses.

To make a long story short, Murph, I think since this is a finesse offense, that the D has come soft as well. Again, I haven’t seen any of theh games, but there is no reason why the D should be getting pushed around like it is. Am I way off base here???

Murph — You’re right to a certain extent. But when it gets rolling, this offense is almost unstoppable. But it first has to get rolling.

It is very easy to underestimate what the players on this team have been through. A couple of years ago Tulane had a really lousy season after being displaced by Katrina. Look what happened to Rice basketball when they were displaced last year. It is not an excuse.

I am already seeing a lot of people firing on 5 cylinders and not even recognizing the problem. I work with golfers (serious amateurs) and have seen many a game go in the tank when the individual is experiencing unusual stress — whether the individual realizes it or not. Most really do not realize it until we bring it to light with interviews.

Add to that this team is a whole new animal. I agree with FormerCoog when he says, “new coach, new offense, new defense and new special team.” It is kinda like baking a cake. You can mix all the ingredients together, but they still have to cook a while for them to become a “cake” and not just a collection of ingredients. Really bad timing with the disaster. This is likely to be a tale of two seasons, the second one being when the team gells. If the team were devoid of talent then this cake would likely never rise, but the talent is there. We should still be bowling at the end of the season.

1-4 will be even worse than 1-3. There is no reason to expect us to win this week. ECU knows how to win right now and we don’t and after they killed thier perfect season vs NC STATE I expect they will come out ready to tear our heads off. Will we be ready? Not likely.

Who’s fault is it? Not postponing the CSU game was a mistake but our defense just sucks.

1-4 will be even worse than 1-3. There is no reason to expect us to win this week. ECU knows how to win right now and we don’t and after they killed thier perfect season vs NC STATE I expect they will come out ready to tear our heads off. Will we be ready? Not likely.

Who’s fault is it? Not postponing the CSU game was a mistake but our defense just sucks.

Hello Bloggers! How many of YOU would like to forget about the last two weeks? Go ahead and say you were awesome at your job, (if you live in Houston), went right back to work the very next day, and right after IKE everything you did was just peachy. I say the last two weeks ought to be forgotten, period. Keep in mind also we are discussing the performance of some people who don’t have to shave every day. They don’t have to cause they’re kids! I am NOT making excuses, but I think we’re seeing about a third of this team’s potential. Where’s the rest? He** if I know!

We are going to get the chance to see where these guys are very soon against ECU, and frankly, I think we’re in for a long day if we give them 3 touchdowns in the first half. Having said that I still think we can compete in CUSA for the Western Div title. What don’t kill ya makes ya stronger! GO COOGS!

I dont know murph, but it just feel’s like the team has lost its passion. Ike… maybe, but they need to find it before it is too late, if it isn’t already.

I dont physically live in Houston, but still stay as connected as on can possibly be from 1000 miles away. I still live vicariously through the H-Town teams, and right now I honestly feel depressed. Astros, sunk. Texans, frustrating lack of focus. UH… at least we score at some point.

I am going to bed. I will feel better by Tuesday.

(Hopefully I will dream about the Kentucky BBall game last year. That made me happy.)

Don’t fire anyone. Sumlin is a good coach. Bring back LonghornMatt for more trash talk… not from Cougar fans that don’t face reality. This team lost two excellent players in Avery and Aldridge. It normally takes a full season for any player to get used to a coach and plays and quarterback. The Cougars will most likely be 12-0 next year, including beating LSU. But this year is a learning year for everyone… and then you throw in a devastating storm in your life with no sleep etc. The Cougars will not rebound and beat ECU but they will win… 5 of the last 7 games for sure… most likely not going to a bowl this year. Give the Coach a chance to prove himself. If million dollar players in the NFL like the Texans can be scatterbrained from the Hurricane Ike, what would you expect from a bunch of kids that never expected the devastation in the city they went through and you expect them to have their head in the games? It takes time to recover mentally from this situation. As life gets back to normal, the wins will come.

Jack Pardee installed The Run-N-Shoot offense in 1987 and had a record of 4-6-1. In 1988 and 1989 all cylinders clicked and we had very fine seasons.

Perhaps this is 1987 again. Takes time to start new schemes.

However, the overall problem at Cougarland is recruiting. There is a simple reason we see Offenses push our defense around. Our players just are not up to snuff. This situation lands at the feet of one Art Briles, whose National recruiting rankings were always in the lower half, and sometimes between 60 and 80th.

The Briles talent is on the field. As a result Sumlin is playing 8 true freshmen, I believe.

The last Master recruiter UH had left in 1986.Until we again have a Head Coach who can bring in studs like Coach Yeoman did we won’t see much improvement.

i cannot believe that no one has mentioned the new uni’s. maybe it is like that episode of seinfeld where they shrank and were too tight. is bball the same guy that blamed uncle dave for bowing to the tv dollars for the afa game even though it was not on tv?

Murph — I believe bball is the guy who claimed Uncle Dave was the second gunman on the grassy knoll…

You know, if Case had completed that last pass to Castille, I would have been saying this team had found its bearings and the future looked bright. That’s exactly what I was thinking as I listened on the radio. So I think the criticisms of Coach Sumlin are a little premature, and for God’s sake it is certainly not time to call for him to be fired.

I’m really in no position to judge his work until a lot more water flows under the bridge. But one of the things I liked about him after the first game was his critical comments on all the things that the team could have done better. They should have won the last two games. They didn’t because they didn’t play well. I think he and his coaching staff would agree with that assessment.

On the other hand, whatever comes this year, I’ll be buying my seasons tickets and re-upping for Cougar pride after the season is over.

I am a big Cougar fan and I haven’t missed a home game in almost 7 years. I was in Fort Collins and I saw some things in this game that makes me remember 0-10 and its scaring me. Murph, you actually said in reply to an earlier post that the special teams played well. Wasn’t that an abomination to allow a 20 yard run after a muffed field goal? They did get a hand on a couple of punts but the field goal flub was just laughable.

I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it but going for a 4th and 12 didn’t seem like a great idea at the time to me. I dont remember the chronology of it or if we were down 14 or 21 at the time but either way it isn’t an option, especially when you haven’t effectively stopped a pass rush yet. I just remember putting my head down and shaking it wondrering what the heck!!! ( actually a much harsher word…)

Time running out and a pass over the middle with no time outs left was bad but I dont know who exactly to blame for that one. As you article stated, we had scored a TD and a 2-pt conversion with the same exact plays a minute earlier. Didn’t it occur to who ever calls the plays to maybe NOT run that play again or at least maybe to run it to the other side with some sort of misdirection involed?

There were a couple of other things I noticed. There was some home cooking going on with the clock. We had a pass completed and run out of bounds our last successful TD drive with about 2:30 or so on the clock and the clock was started while we were in a play calling mode when it shouldnt have. The TD the CSU scored I immediately looked to the scoreboard and the clock was still running after the TD. Combined alost 30 seconds that would have been handy there at the end. Not the reason we lost but I did see it happen. Venting done… but still shaking my head… thanks.

No need to vent if your a real Cougar fan that follows the team through good and bad times. Real fans understand that we are going through growing pains, new coaches, getting the BAB out of the old players, and teaching the young players how to play D-1 football. Just continue to show support and come to the games.

First off UH should have rescheduled the air force game. I just think it is a bad reflection for the University of HOUSTON to play a football game the day of a major storm… just out right ridiculous! Now that is not an excuse for bad play but seriously who was in charge of that decision? Doesn’t that seem odd to any one else? Some things are just a little more important that a football game! Secondly, the CSU loss was again just a bad loss. Slow play like usual put the Cougars in a tough spot. This is still a Briles team with a different system. It will take time for the transition. Look at the box score there was 1 penalty. Now that isn’t exactly the most amazing thing but over the years those penalties start to add up and under Briles this team would pile up on penalties. Same team, just a different system, not to mention recruiting again but Briles did leave at a crucial time for UH recruiting. Now if the Coogs can win on Saturday at ECU which isn’t likely then I think most people will feel a little better. But another bad showing and don’t expect this team to get to .500. Plus this is nothing new for us. Helton, Dimel I mean it can’t get worse than those years.

Really?!?! I believe that if the University of Houston would have rescheduled the game with AirForce, we would all be wondering what if? The fact of the matter is, and DM has said it, that we needed this game to be played because of bowl considerations. In the wake of a lackluster season (thus far), this staff has given their team every opportunity to reach the heights that we want them to be. Is it Dave Maggard’s fault? No.Is it Kevin Sumlin’s fault? No. The situation we are in now, is not the result of any one man’s, or staff’s decision. Some of you may realize that. As difficult as it is to accept, our Coogs are a transition team, and true fans will be there to weather the storm. Like it or not, we are 1-3. That’s history, where we go from this point on is what matters now.